


When hell freezes over

by asamandra



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Blood, Don't Like Don't Read, Don't copy to another site, Hurt/Comfort, Keane is Immortal, Keane is a bastard, Kidnapping, M/M, Rape, an he wants revenge, does Keane have a first name?, he doesn't like the answers, he has Questions, non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:33:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29142303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asamandra/pseuds/asamandra
Summary: Marcus Keane was sure this was a dream. He sat in his car and just waited at a traffic light in some London suburb, when he saw a familiar figure walking over the crosswalk. Nicolò di Genova! Or Nick Smith, as he called himself nowadays. He had a plastic bag with groceries in one hand and a paper cup with coffee in the other.“Oh you,” he growled. He gritted his teeth and - without thinking twice - stepped on the gas.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Keane/Nicky | Nicolo di Genova
Comments: 14
Kudos: 95





	1. Keane's POV

Marcus Keane was sure this was a dream. He sat in his car and just waited at a traffic light in some London suburb, when he saw a familiar figure walking over the crosswalk. Nicolò di Genova! Or Nick Smith, as he called himself nowadays. He had a plastic bag with groceries in one hand and a paper cup with coffee in the other. 

“Oh you,” he growled. He gritted his teeth and - without thinking twice - stepped on the gas. With squealing tires the car shot forward, the man’s head whirled around and a moment before he got hit he recognized him. He literally flew over the car and lay on the street behind it, bleeding, probably dead.

People started to shout and scream, stared and made photos with their phones but at least two of them started to dial. But Keane was faster than them. He jumped out of the car, ran to the man on the street, grabbed one of his arms and one of his legs, hoisted him up and carried him to the trunk. He opened it, threw him in and saw people pointing at him and shouting some more.

One screamed for the cops, another one for an ambulance. But Keane hurried back to the driver’s seat and stepped on the gas again. 

He had no idea what he should do now. This… this was not planned but he had done it. He had Nicolò di Genova in his trunk and now he had to find a place… and then he smiled. 

Keane stopped the car in front of a house in the middle of the night. He had stopped once only to open the trunk, shoot the guy, tie him up with a cable he had in his car, gag him and then lock him in again. 

The house had belonged to Steven Merrick, but since he had had no family the lawyers still tried to figure out what should happen with all his belongings. It was in the countryside somewhere in Wales, ten minutes by car from the next village away and no one would know that he was here. But what he knew was the passcode for the door. 

Keane went out of the car, went back to the trunk and opened it. The man inside looked up and when he recognized him again, his eyes went wide. He smirked at him and grabbed him.

“Guess you didn’t expect to see me again,” he said and pulled him out of the trunk. 

The guy struggled but Keane was bigger than him, stronger… and not tied up. He dragged him to the front door, opened it and went in. 

He punched in the passcode for the alarm system and then switched on the light. His prisoner fought, struggled and tried to get away but Keane was strong and he knew how to hold unwilling people, even if they have roughly 900 years more experience. He was still just a man and the laws of physics worked for him, too. And yes, the grip he just held him in hurt like a motherfucker and so he could immobilize him. For now. 

Keane dragged the man into the living room, threw him onto the floor and then hit him really hard on the head with his gun. He slumped down unconscious and Keane breathed in. 

This was a clusterfuck but he needed answers and this guy was the only one who could give them to him right now if he wanted or not. Keane would make him give him answers. 

Di Genova started to stir behind him and Keane turned around. He went to the dining room, took one of the chairs and brought it over. He rummaged through the kitchen drawers until he found what he looked for. Duct tape. 

Di Genova was almost conscious again when Keane came back to him. So he just grabbed him, placed him on the chair and tied him to it with the duct tape. And then he sat down and waited for him to be awake enough. 

When the guy's weird eyes settled on him he put on a smile and cocked his head. 

“Yeah,” he said and gestured at himself. “I’m alive. I don't know why, but… I have a suspicion.” 

Di Genova frowned and mumbled something into his gag. Keane rose, went over to him and removed it. 

“Prove it,” the man said and Keane raised a brow. But then he reached in his pocket, took out the pocket knife, opened it and cut himself in the arm. He hissed slightly and blood ran over his skin, but only moments later the wound started to close itself and was gone without leaving a scar. 

“How?” Di Genova asked and looked at him. “We didn’t dream of you!” 

“Dream?” Keane blurted and frowned. “What do you mean, dream of me?” 

“We…” the other man started but then stopped for a moment and cocked his head. “We usually dream of new immortals,” he said then. “But I guess we didn’t dream of you because we already met you.” 

“Is that the reason why I dream of a woman in an iron coffin in the ocean?” Keane asked and Di Genova nodded slowly. 

“Quynh,” he said. “She’s one of us.” 

“That much I figured out myself,” Keane snapped. “But why is she still in the ocean? Why didn’t you rescue her?” 

“Do you have the slightest idea how huge the ocean is? These men never told us where they threw her in. We searched for many, many years but we can’t find her!” Di Genvoa spat back. 

“How can I make it go away?” Keane asked and folded his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know,” Di Genova said. “Maybe ask your friend Dr. Kozak?” 

Keane glared at him for a long moment, then backhanded him. His head flew to the side and he saw a trickle of blood but it subsided only seconds later. 

“It doesn’t go away just because you don't want it. You can ask Booker,” Di Genova said now, licking his lip. 

Keane sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at the bound man on the chair opposite of him. He gritted his teeth and felt the anger well up in him. 

“That’s all your fault,” he snarled. “This,” he said and gestured at himself. “This is all your fault.” 

“Immortality is not infectious,” Di Genova sighed. “If you are immortal it was your destiny and…” 

Keane was on his feet in an instant and he backhanded him again. 

“Are you done now?” Di Genova hissed and glared at him. For a moment Keane deliberated if he should cut out his weird eyes. He hated the way he looked at him. 

“Not anywhere near,” he growled and grabbed the man’s hair to pull his head back so he had to look up at him. He still didn’t show any fear. He didn’t show fear when he and the other guy were captured in Merrick’s lab and he didn’t show any fear when Kozak literally tore them apart. 

“You have to live with the fact that you can’t die now,” Di Genova said and Keane lost it. He backhanded him so hard the chair toppled over and he lay on the ground, groaning quietly. He kicked the man in the stomach, in the face many, many times and every time he could watch the wounds heal within seconds and it infuriated him even more. 

“This is your fault!” he screamed and kicked him in the face again. He could hear his nose break and saw blood drop onto the expensive carpet. “Your fault!” He kicked him between the legs and the man tried to protect himself but the way he was tied to the chair prevented it. 

“How is this our fault?” Di Genova rasped. “We didn’t ask to be kidnapped by your boss.” 

“You… you guys… you killed me!” Keane hissed. “I woke up between dirt and dead men!” 

“Yeah?” Di Genova snorted. “You killed me, too, remember?”

Keane hunkered down beside Di Genova and watched his wounds closing themselves, bones slot together and his bruises disappearing. It didn’t last. Whatever he did to him, it didn’t last. He couldn’t hurt him and make it last… or could he? There was no way he could hurt him physically, not like he deserved. But there was a way to hurt him. Something that would stay.

A grin appeared on his lips. 

“This is your fault and now you will pay for it!” Keane said casually. He rose and kicked the bound man at the head and he lost consciousness once more. 

Keane used the moment to drag Di Genova to the bedroom. With his pocket knife he cut him off of the chair, threw him onto the bed and went to get the duct tape. He used the tape to tie Di Genova’s hands to the bed and then started to cut off his clothes. 

He had to find something else, he had to... the curtains! There were ropes holding the curtains and they were just what he needed. He yanked them down and went back to the bed, wrapped them around Di Genvoa’s ankles and then at the footboard of the bed but so that he could still move his legs but didn’t have enough leverage to fight back. 

Then he waited. But he didn’t have to wait long. Di Genova woke with a start and a curse in a language he didn’t speak. He looked at himself, then at Keane again with his weird, pale eyes. And he understood. He gritted his teeth and swallowed but he knew what Keane would do. 

“You’re going to pay,” he hissed and shrugged out of his jacket. He kicked off his boots and opened his pants. 

“This will not change what you are,” Di Genova said. He tested the duct tape that held his hands and realized he couldn’t lose it. He couldn’t get out of it. He swallowed again. 

“No,” Keane snapped. “Probably not! But someone has to pay and you’re here.” 

He opened his shirt and shrugged out of it. “Someone has to pay!” He said again and he knew it sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. 

But he was sure, he was more than sure that he wanted to hurt that bastard. He wanted to hurt him and he wanted him to remember him for a long, long time. His pants followed his shirt, his socks and boxers, too, and Di Genova gritted his teeth. He was already half hard and the man just stared at his member, a twinge of fear in his eyes. 

“It doesn’t have to be like that,” he said and Keane raised a brow. “You could…” 

“What?” he interrupted him. “Join your little club?” He snorted. “No! I have my own plans. But still, you have to pay… and now it will hurt,” he added with an evil smirk on his lips. 

Di Genova tried to move out of his way but the ropes around his ankles held him in place. 

Keane’s smirk broadened when he climbed onto the bed, when he settled between the Italian’s legs and stroked his cock. It was hard and leaked precum already when he grabbed the man’s knees and spread his legs. 

“Don’t,” Di Genova said. “Don’t touch me!” 

“Like I said,” Keane shrugged, “someone has to pay for this shit and you are here.” 

He reached for Di Genova’s dick and wrapped his hand around it. It was still soft but Keane started to pump it and even if he didn’t want to, he became hard. 

Keane was never someone who denied himself some pleasure and he had had sex with men before… but Di Genova was the first uncut guy and he had to admit, he was fascinated by the way his foreskin moved over his glans. His other hand moved between his legs, spread his cheeks and touched his entrance, ran his finger over the puckered hole a few times. Di Genova squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth again. 

But Keane could hear his breathing speed up. The human body was just wonderful sometimes. Even if he didn’t want to, he couldn’t stop his body from reacting to his touch. 

“Stop that!” he snarled and Keane chuckled quietly. 

“Why would I do that? You seem to like it,” he said and earned another one of Di Genova’s murderous glances. 

Keane pressed his finger against Di Genova’s hole, pressed it in and the man groaned beneath him. He knew it was because he just entered him dry, without any lube and he was pretty sure it hurt like hell. But he never let go of his cock, he pumped it, caressed it, used his finger to flick over the glans, teased the slit and the frenulum and it was really hard now, even spilled a few drops of precum. 

His own cock throbbed slightly. He was so hard, too. 

With a grin he sat back on his own feet, spat a few times in his hand and slicked his cock with it. It wasn’t much but this was meant as punishment. 

He pressed Di Genova’s knee onto the bed and lined up. The Italian struggled as far as his ties allowed but he couldn’t get away. Keane saw him press his lips together when he breached him. He squeezed his eyes shut when he shoved in and threw his head back when he bottomed out with a sharp thrust. But he didn’t scream, didn’t groan in pain. He had done that in the lab, too. Whatever Meta had done to him, he didn’t scream one single time and it was unsettling, unsatisfying. 

The other one, yes, Al-Kaysani had cursed, had thrown insults at them but Di Genova remained quiet during his ordeal and now he did the same. But Keane would make him scream. He would make him writhe in pain. 

He placed his hands on Di Genova’s hips and started to fuck him in earnest. He didn’t give him time to adjust, he just shoved in brutally, at a fast pace. Di Genova had his eyes closed, his head thrown back and Keane could see that he was in pain… but he still kept quiet. No moan, no groan, no scream, no nothing. 

Keane let go of his hip with one hand, took his balls in his hand and pressed and it hurt like hell. Di Genova opened his mouth in a silent scream but still made no sound and Keane sped up. He could see blood on his own dick but he didn’t care. It wasn’t as if he could get some STD now, could he? He just wanted to make the other man scream. 

He leaned over him, bit his nipples, pressed his balls together but nothing worked. Tears ran over his face from all the pain and his weird blue-green eyes were clouded but he didn’t give Keane what he wanted. A scream. 

“I will split you in half if I have to,” he growled and moved faster. The slapping of flesh on flesh, the squelching sound of his cock in Di Genova’s bloody channel was almost obscene. And then Keane couldn’t hold back any longer. He was close, so close, so damn close and he reached for Di Genova’s cock, stroked it again, pumped it and he could feel it twitch in his hand. With a groan he forced the Italian over the edge. Come dribbled over his hand and then he shoved in one last time, his whole body became rigid and he moaned while shooting his load in his body. 

“Fuck,” Keane breathed a few moments later when he could move again. He sat back, his now softening dick slid out of Di Genova’s channel and he breathed hard. Another tear ran over the man’s face when he opened his eyes to look at him. 

“You will pay for this,” he said, not angrily, not threatening. Just matter of factly. 

“Yeah? What are you gonna do? Kill me?” he chuckled and rose. His cock was red from Di Genova’s blood and he saw the mess he had just made on the bed. But he didn’t care. Merrick was not here to complain anymore. 

“You will pay,” he repeated and Keane chuckled. 

“We will see, pretty boy,” he said and reached for his boxers. “But until then, I will try my best to make you scream. We have all the time in the world now.” He took the rest of his clothes and went to the door. He wanted to take a shower. “And believe me. You will scream.” 

“When hell freezes over.”


	2. Joe's POV

Joe’s head snapped up when he heard the horn of a police car passing the small park he sat in. He saw the car rushing around a corner and the sound subsided. He looked after it for a moment - an uneasy feeling in his stomach - but then he focused on his sketch pad again. 

A few dogs ran around not far away from the bench where he sat, their owners talking and laughing. But they, too, looked up when they heard the siren. Sure, technically this was still London, but it was so far outside, it was more like a small town here and people looked when they heard a siren, even if they only looked for a moment. 

Joe continued drawing the playing dogs and forgot the police car. He waited for Nicky, who wanted to buy some groceries. It was his turn to cook this afternoon and Joe was actually looking forward to it. Nicky was an awesome cook, better than he or Andy, and he had promised to make Lablabi today. Joe smiled a bit when he thought about Nicky in an apron in the kitchen and sighed a moment later. 

But then he looked up and looked around. Nicky was gone for a while now and he looked at his watch. He was gone for quite a while for just a few groceries and he should’ve been back already. 

“Oh shit!” he cursed. The police car! Something happened and Nicky… oh god! Nicky! He threw the sketch pad and the pencils in his bag and hurried in the same direction Nicky was gone a while ago. He walked fast, almost ran, and then he saw the police car again. 

It stood at a crossing and the two cops talked to some people. They gestured and the cops nodded. 

Joe sped up, walked over to the scene when he saw… blood on the street. There was blood on the street but the cops didn’t call an ambulance and there was no one around with injuries and…

“Sir!” One of the cops saw him walking onto the crossroad and to the scattered groceries on the street. A paper cup lay there, too, but it was empty, the coffee dried beside it. 

“Sir,” the cop said and came over to him. “You can’t…” 

“What happened here?” Joe snapped and the cop frowned. 

“That’s not…” the man started but Joe interrupted him with a harsh gesture. 

“I was waiting for my husband,” he said. “He wanted to buy groceries and he’s late. What… what happened?” 

The cop scrutinized him for a very long moment. 

“Can you tell me what your husband wore?” he asked and Joe stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. 

“What?” he asked and the cop repeated his question. 

“Can you please tell me what kind of clothes your husband wore?” he said and Joe thought about it for a moment. 

“Uh… jeans. Jeans and a blue shirt and… and chucks. Black chucks and… and he’s this height,” Joe said and held his hand up to demonstrate. “And… and he has brown hair and…” 

But the cop nodded already. 

“Sir… uh… I’m afraid… according to the witnesses the man you just described was run over by a car and…” 

“Where is he? Is he in the hospital?” Joe interrupted him but the cop shook his head. 

“No,” he said. “It seems the driver of the car ran him over on purpose, then got out of the car and… and took him with him.” 

“The… the driver did what?” Joe blurted. 

“He took your husband with him,” he said. “He kidnapped him. Do you have an idea who this man was? And why he had kidnapped your husband?” 

Joe stared at the cop for a very long moment, then just turned away and took out his phone. He dialed Nicky’s number and pressed the device at his ear. But he didn’t pick up. 

He held his phone in his hand and looked at it. Nicky’s been kidnapped and he had no idea why or by whom. 

“Sir, could you…” the cop said behind him but Joe just looked at him, turned around and walked away. “Sir!” the man called after him. “Sir!” 

But Joe didn’t listen. He went to his car as fast as possible, climbed behind the wheel and drove to the safe house where he knew Andy and Nile were waiting for them. 

It took him twenty minutes and Joe picutered all the horrible scenarios in his head. He knew he had to find Nicky as fast as possible. After all the things this doctor did to him in Merrick’s lab he was still a little… shaken. Even if he would never admit it. But Joe knew him long enough to really know him. 

“Boss?” he called as soon as he arrived at the house and entered it. “Nile?” 

Andy was just reading a book and her head snapped up the moment she heard his voice. She also heard that something was wrong. 

“Joe,” she said and rose. 

“Someone has Nicky,” he said before she could ask. 

“What?” She blurted and Joe pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“There… there were dogs in the park not far away from the grocery store. They were so cute and I wanted to draw them and Nicky said he could get the few things he needed by himself and so… so I let him go… and then there was a police siren and…” 

“Joe,” Andy interrupted him and Joe looked up at her. Nile had hear him and came into the living room, too. 

“The cop said, he went over the crosswalk when a car hit him and kidnapped him,” he said. “I… they don’t know who and why and…” 

“Joe, calm down,” Andy interrupted him again. “We’ll find him, okay?” Nile nodded fiercely beside her. 

“I’ll call Copley,” she said. “Maybe he has an idea how we can find him. Maybe there were cameras or something,” 

“That’s actually a good idea, Nile,” Andy said. “Do you know if he has his phone?” 

“He had it with him,” Joe confirmed. “And it wasn’t at the scene.” 

“That’s good,” Nile said. “It’s possible to trace him with it!” 

“Copley took care that our phones can’t be traced,” Joe said. “Remember?” 

Andy looked at him for a very long moment and then Joe deflated. 

“I’ll call _him_ ,” he said then. “If there’s one person who can do it, then…” 

The two women shared a glance. 

But Joe just reached for his own phone and walked over to the kitchen before he dialed. It ran eleven times before he could finally hear someone slur into the receiver.

“Oui?” 

Joe took a deep breath. 

“Sebastien,” he said, deliberately not using his nickname. “I… I need your help. It’s really important. Please!” 

It was quiet at the other end for a long while but Joe could hear Booker breathe. 

“Qu’est-il arrivé?” he eventually asked and Joe let out the air he held in his lungs. He knew it was hard to ask Booker after all they did to him, after what he did to them. But he was the best hacker they knew and if anyone could help them, it was him. 

“Nicky,” he said. “Someone kidnapped him and you’re the only one who can find him.” 

“De quoi as-tu besoin?” Booker asked. 

“I need you to trace Nicky’s phone,” he said. “I know, Copley said no one can trace them, but I also know you can do it. I need to know where he is.” 

“Bon,” Booker said and quit the call. Joe knew he would call him as soon as possible. 

“Joe?” Nile came over to him and put her hand on his arm. “Copley says he’ll check CCTV.” 

“Good,” he nodded. “Thank you!” 

“We’ll find him,” she said and looked at the phone in his hand. “ _He_ will find him.” 

“I hope so,” Joe said and licked his lips. “I hope so.”

***

It took almost four hours till Joe’s phone rang again.

Copley had called earlier, had told them that he would get the CCTV footage and that he would find out who had Nicky soon but so far they had no trace. Joe was going stir crazy. There was nothing he could do. Nothing. He had no idea who had Nicky and why and what they were doing to him right now. 

But then his phone rang and Joe pressed the button so hard, it almost broke. 

“Booker?” he blurted, this time using his nickname. He could hear the long breath again but Booker sounded more sober now. 

“He’s in Merrick’s parent’s home,” he said and gave him the address. Joe wrote it down. “They are dead and now that their only son is dead, too, the house should be empty. The situation about his inheritance is still unclear and so…” 

“Thank you, Booker,” Joe interrupted him and Booker was quiet again for a moment. 

“De rien,” he said then. “Joe,” he added just a moment before he could quit the call. 

“Yes?” Joe asked and Booker was quiet for another moment. 

“Find him,” he said then. “Bring him home.” 

“I will,” Joe said. When this was over, he knew he would go to Booker and talk to him. There was a lot he had to make up to him. 

But now he had to find Nicky. 

“I have an address,” he said when he went back to Andy and Nile. The two women sat on the couch, dressed in their battle gear already and rose as soon as he said it. They simultaneously reached for their weapons and went to the door. Joe followed them after grabbing his own weapons, his guns, his rifle… and his scimitar. And a moment later he also took Nicky’s longsword and went to the waiting car.

Nile sat behind the wheel and Andy sat on the passenger’s seat. So he opened the door behind Andy and went in, too. Without a word they drove all the way to the address Booker had given them. 

The house was old but Merrick had added some modern features, Joe could see through the binoculars. The door was secured with a smart lock, a number pad was in the wall beside it. And he could see some security cameras. 

Joe tapped his comm and waited. 

“Coast is clear on the left side,” Andy said a moment later. 

“Wish I could say the same,” Nile said. “I just saw the attacker and you won't believe it.” 

“Nile,” Joe snapped. 

“It’s Merrick’s security guy,” she said. “The one who shot Nicky, the one you killed.” 

“What?” Andy asked. “He was dead. I have seen him. His neck was broken.” 

“And now he’s here,” Nile said. “He’s just in the kitchen, making sandwiches.” 

Joe gritted his teeth. 

“Nicky?” he asked a moment later. 

“Negative,” Nile said. 

“I’ll go in,” he said and pulled up the bandana over his mouth. There were security cameras after all. He went to the door, looked up at the camera… and then kicked in the door. Only moments later he could hear similar noises from behind the house. His rifle up at his shoulder he moved through the corridor and checked the rooms beside it. They were empty but then he heard gunshots. Joe hurried to the sound but not without checking if it was safe. 

When he arrived in the kitchen, he found Nile standing beside the fridge, aiming at a very dead man on the floor. He lay at the ground with a hole in his forehead, the plate with the sandwiches shattered beside him, the food strewn around. But right that moment the bullet fell onto the floor and he gasped awake.

Andy came in, too, saw it and sighed. 

“Fuck,” she said. “Not another one.” 

Nile looked at her, an unreadable expression on her face but she didn’t move her gun away, still aimed at the guy. 

“Where’s Nicky,” Joe snarled angrily. 

The man gritted his teeth but refused to talk to him. 

“Go, find him,” Andy said. “We’ll take care of him.” 

Joe nodded and left the kitchen. He found him in a bedroom. Joe just opened the door and looked in when the sight hit him. Nicky lay in a puddle of blood on the bed, naked, tied with duct tape and some ropes. He was unconscious, maybe dead. 

For a moment Joe doubled over, his hands on his head. The desperation hit him like a sledgehammer. 

“No,” he cried without noticing the tears running over his face at the sight in front of him. “No, please…” 

Nicky didn’t move. Slowly Joe went over, sat down on the bed beside him. His skin was unblemished so that meant he healed. That meant he was… he was alive. Joe’s gaze wandered to his chest and yes, he was breathing. 

Joe sighed relieved. He and Nicky never thought that much about losing their immortality… until Andy had lost hers. Since then it always hung over him, over them like the sword of Damocles. 

“Nicky,” he breathed and gently cupped his husband's cheek, caressed him with his thumb before he turned around and untied his feet. He saw the blood on his legs, between them, on the bed and he knew, he knew what that bastard had done to him. How he had hurt this wonderful man. 

“Oh my god, Nicky,” he whispered, tears still running over his face. He couldn’t imagine the pain Nicky had had to endure just hours before. “I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m so sorry I left you alone.” 

He could hear more gunshots from downstairs and whirled around but no one came, no hasty steps, no screams. Joe had his hand on his rifle but when nothing happened, he took his knife and cut off the duct tape that held Nicky’s hands to the headboard. 

He just removed the tape from his wrists when Nicky’s eyes started to flutter. He opened them, saw Joe and closed them again, turned his head away. 

“Nicky,” Joe said gently and reached for him, but didn’t dare to touch him. “Please, look at me?” 

“He said it was our fault,” he whispered. “He’s one of us now and he said it’s our fault.” 

“No!” Joe snapped and Nicky startled. But he turned his head and looked at him now. “No, he’s not one of us! Maybe he _is_ like us, but he’s not one of us!” 

“He said, because he _touched_ us, he’s like us now,” Nicky said and swallowed hard. 

“You know it’s not true,” Joe said. “You know that. That’s not how it works.” 

“I told him,” Nicky said. “I told him and he got angry. He said he wanted to punish me but it wouldn’t last.” A tear ran over his face and he swallowed. “He said he had to do something that would last. Something that wouldn't heal.” 

“I’ll kill him,” Joe growled. “I will kill him and chop him in tiny pieces and spread them in each corner of the world!” 

“That won’t last, too,” Nicky said tonelessly. Joe reached out for him and Nicky moved, wrapped his arms around him and hid his face in the crook of his neck. He could feel the sobs, could feel the tears and the hate he felt for this man who had hurt him became almost unbearable. He wanted to hurt him, wanted to hurt him so badly. But unfortunately he couldn’t. He was immortal, too. He was like him and Nicky and Nile and… and Quynh. And Quynh!! 

An idea formed in his head but he couldn’t get up, not now, not when Nicky needed him. So he stayed, held him and let him cry as long as he needed to. But eventually the tears subsided and Joe carefully caressed his back. 

When he heard a gentle knock he turned his head to see Nile in the doorway. She licked her lips and seemed unsure what to say. 

“Nile, honey,” Joe said and reached for the blanket to cover Nicky. “Could you maybe stay for a moment?” 

“Joe?” Nicky asked and looked at him now. Once again he had the feeling that his eyes bore in his soul. 

“I’ll be back in a minute, my heart,” he said. “There’s just one thing I have to do.” 

“Joe, please…” 

“Just one minute,” Joe repeated. “Nile will stay with you. I’ll be right back, I promise!” 

Nicky cast his eyes down and nodded. Nile came over and took Joe’s place while he walked out of the door. On his way back to the living room he drew his scimitar. 

The guy lay on the floor, his arms bound behind his back. Andy sat on the couch, a gun on her knees. She didn’t get up or move a finger when she saw Joe come in with his drawn blade. 

“You touched him,” Joe growled, his expression pure rage now. “You dared to touch him!” 

Andy only raised a brow when he struck out with his scimitar and moved it against his knees. The razor sharp blade chopped off his left leg without effort and the bound man started to scream. 

“Joe,” Andy just said and Joe struck out and chopped off the other leg, too. 

“Don’t worry,” he growled. “They will grow back. It will take time and it will hurt but you deserve it!” 

The man almost lost consciousness but Joe was on him in an instant, grabbed his hair and looked in his eyes. 

“You hurt Nicky,” he said. “You hurt him again. You did it once and now you did it again. If there’s one person on this rotten planet who doesn’t deserve to be hurt like this, then it’s Nicky! But you dared to hurt him in the worst way possible.” 

“Joe,” Andy said again but once again Joe ignored her. 

“I cannot kill you, that much is clear now,” he hissed at the man. “But if I see your face ever again, I will make you pay in a way you definitely won’t like.” 

“Joe!” Andy said, now with more edge in her voice. 

“Maybe you dreamed of her,” Joe said, his lips very close to the man’s ear right now. “Her name is Quynh. She’s one of us. Evil men took her prisoner, put her in an iron maiden and threw her into the ocean. She’s hurting since then. She’s dying and dying and dying all over again. If I see your face again, if you ever come close to my family again, if you dare to lay eyes on one of them ever again, I swear to Allah, to God, to Buddha and whoever else is here to listen, Quynh’s fate is a walk in the sunshine compared to yours.” 

“Joe,” Andy said once more and now he turned to her. 

“I cannot kill you,” Joe said coldly to the screaming guy. “But you would wish I could.” 

He rose and stepped back. The bleeding had stopped already and the man looked up at him now, definitely scared. 

“Joe,” he heard a voice behind him. It wasn’t Andy, it was Nicky. He stood in the doorway, dressed already and Nile was beside him. 

“Yes, my love,” he said, rose and went to him. 

“Don’t,” Nicky said and swallowed hard. “Don’t do that.” 

“I will do everything I have to to protect you,” Joe said. “And if I have to make my hands dirty, I will do that, too.” 

“But I don't want you to,” Nicky said quietly. “I don’t want you to become like him.” 

“What are we doing now?” Nile said and Nicky turned to her. 

“We leave him alone,” he said. “We just leave him.” 

“You… you want to leave him? After all what he did to you?” Andy asked now incredulously. “You want us to just walk away and leave him?” 

“We abandon him,” Nicky said coldly. “He will be alone for all time.” 

“You can abandon me all you like, I’m one of you now and…” the man said and Nicky snorted. 

“When hell freezes over,” he said, his voice icy, and Nile looked at him shocked. 

“You heard the man,” Andy shrugged. 

“Let’s go,” Joe said, looking down at the guy. “We leave him here.” 

Together they left the house and they ignored the guy screaming after them. He threatened he would find them and he would hurt all of them and Joe believed him. But Joe would also keep his promise. If he would ever see him, Quynh’s fate would be his. And he would throw him in Marianas trench, just to make sure no one would find him ever again. 

“Oh,” Joe said when they were out of the house, “I have something for you.” He undid the belt with Nicky’s sword and handed it over. “I thought maybe you need it.” 

Nicky reached over and took Joe’s hand. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank you for finding me.” 

“Always, my love,” Joe said and caressed Nicky’s hand with his thumb. “I’ll find you everywhere.” 

“So,” Andy, who sat behind the wheel, said and looked at the three of them. “Whereto?” 

“Paris,” Joe said quick like a shot. 

“Paris?” Nicky frowned and Joe nodded. 

“Yes, Paris,” he said. Andy scrutinized him through the mirror for a moment but then she nodded, too. 

“All right. Paris it is!”

**Author's Note:**

> [asamandra on tumblr](http://asamandra.tumblr.com/)   
>  [clintbartonruinedmylife on tumblr](https://clintbartonruinedmylife.tumblr.com/)   
> 


End file.
